Nevada Dispensaries Banned from Accepting CA Doctor Recs

The Nevada State Attorney General’s office sent notice to the Department of Health and Human Services to cease acceptance of California residents’ medical marijuana doctor recommendations at dispensaries. Californians will now need a valid California medical marijuana card, not just a copy of a doctor’s recommendation for a card, in order to purchase marijuana from Nevada dispensaries.

Many Nevada dispensaries worry about the harm this will cause to their sales.

According to reports by Las Vegas Sun, dispensary owner David Goldwater states that roughly 40-percent of his clientele is from out-of-state and that his business model would be impacted significantly if California doctor’s notes are banned. Goldwater also mentioned that 90-percent of California medical marijuana patients received their recommendations from doctors in lieu of state-issued cards.

An excerpt from the letter to the Department of Health and Human Services reads “A recommendation from a California physician and (sic) a driver’s license from another state cannot be used to obtain medical marijuana from a Nevada dispensary.”

David Goldwater said, in response to the Attorney General’s decision, that, “Not only (is it important) for our business, but for the patients who need medicine when they’re visiting here.”

Another dispensary owner, Andrew Jolley, said that disallowing California doctor’s notes will affect tens of thousands of people and that “if the department enacts this measure, these patients are going to be extremely disappointed. And in some cases, their health will be affected.”

No firm decision regarding the matter is set yet. Discussions are planned for early August and dispensaries will be given ample notice if and when these changes are set to go into effect.